Studies on cell fusion-mediated nuclear reprogramming have led to the breakthrough of the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology. While this technology has neared stem cells to applications more than any other method, the mechanistic bases of reprogramming remain largely unsolved. In this context, comparative studies of oocyte and cell fusion-mediated reprogramming hold the greatest pro...

Cofilin protein is involved in regulating the actin cytoskeleton during typical steady state conditions, as well as during cell stress conditions where cofilin saturates F-actin, forming cofilin-actin rods. Cofilin can enter the nucleus through an active nuclear localization signal (NLS), accumulating in nuclear actin rods during stress. Here, we characterize the active nuclear export of cofili...

Although photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) plays an essential role in photosynthesis, a full understanding of the mechanism is still lacking due to complex nonequilibrium dynamics arising from strongly coupled electronic and nuclear degrees freedom. Here we report PCET biomimetic model system investigated by means transient IR two-dimensional electronic–vibrational (2DEV) spe...

Mitochondrial DNA is an extranuclear genome normally maternally inherited through the oocyte. However, the use of nuclear transfer can result in both donor cell and recipient oocyte mitochondrial DNA persisting through to blastocyst and being transmitted to the offspring. The degree of donor mitochondrial DNA transmission appears to be random and currently no evidence exists to explain this phe...